#remotework

TRP is finally requiring groups that have been working fully remote to return to the office four days a week, bringing them in line with the rest of the workforce. For once, the company’s talk about treating employees equally appears to be reflected in its policy.

Likely a pointless long-shot here, but it has to be said. It’s time for the senior leadership in this company to allow those who can to return to fully remote work. Between the enormous increase in health insurance premiums this year, a reemerging inflation crisis, skyrocketing transportation costs, etc.; the overwhelming majority of employees are unable to carry this financial burden. Compensation at this company simply isn’t high enough outside of the executive class to cover the cost of living explosion on 2026.

Allowing sales, admin, billing, contract, etc. staff (most of whom are still sub-6-figure incomes) to work fully remote removes some of the financial burden we’re all facing with $5-ish a gallon gas and all the inflationary side effects with $7-ish+ per gallon diesel (even worse on the west coast).

In addition, Canon is surely facing logistics increases as the diesel prices have skyrocketed and will continue to increase. Imagine saving money on utilities for office buildings for a while until the ongoing global conflicts find some kind of resolution.

Collaboration isn’t limited to face-to-face contact, and most of us still attend meetings via Chat even when we’re in the office. Something has got to give, here. People need a break. I just filled the gas tank on my aging SUV to prepare for the week before football today and it cost $100 (I guess I should have filled up on Wednesday and saved $0.40 a gallon…).

Do SOMETHING to help the people who actually do the work and make the company money. It’s costs the company nothing in the end, but can help improve morale and the financial health of the workforce in a historic time of financial stress outside of any of our control.

Source: https://drjustinbateh.com/in-the-media/

You're 31% less likely to get promoted.

Your output has nothing to do with it.

Fully remote workers get promoted 31 percent less often.

Hybrid workers keep pace with everyone in the office.

Nine ways proximity bias shows up before anyone calls it that:

1/ Task assignments go to whoever's visible
→ New work lands on people nearby, by habit
→ Not on whoever's actually best suited
→ Visibility substitutes for evaluation

2/ Casual hallway trust becomes career currency
→ Quick chats build familiarity fast
→ Familiarity gets mistaken for competence
→ Remote work simply can't produce as many of them

3/ Managers forget who isn't in the room
→ Nearly half admit forgetting remote workers exist
→ Not maliciously, just by default
→ Out of sight quietly becomes out of the plan

4/ Layoffs cut the people they know least
→ Decisions get easier without a face attached
→ Remote workers are 35 percent more likely to be cut
→ Distance makes the hard call feel less personal

5/ Executives openly reward showing up
→ Favorable assignments go to in-office effort
→ Raises and promotions follow the same pattern
→ Location becomes a hidden line item in the decision

6/ Mentorship happens where the mentor already is
→ Advice flows to whoever's easiest to reach
→ Remote workers get less of it by default
→ Growth compounds unevenly for reasons unrelated to skill

7/ Calibration meetings run on memory, not data
→ The names people can picture get discussed first
→ The ones they can't, get discussed last, if at all
→ Memory favors whoever occupies physical space

8/ Hybrid workers dodge the penalty entirely
→ Same flexibility, none of the promotion gap
→ The problem isn't remote work itself
→ It's being fully absent from the room where it counts

9/ Visibility becomes something you have to engineer
→ Waiting for fairness doesn't close the gap
→ Documenting wins and showing up where decisions happen does
→ The bias doesn't disappear, but it can be out-worked

Proximity bias doesn't ask if your work was good. It just asks if anyone happened to see it.

that's the news

The Walt Disney Company is reportedly demanding that some remote tech and product employees return to the office four days a week. Those who do not comply with this mandate may face termination. This policy is not new, as Disney announced a similar requirement in March 2023. The current enforcement appears to be targeting employees who have remained fully remote. This move comes as the company emphasizes the importance of in-person collaboration for creativity and career development.

Burbank, California

https://www.disneyfanatic.com/disney-reportedly-tightens-return-to-office-enforcement-for-remote-staff-el1/

I had an eccentric manager who was brutally honest and upfront in individual syncs. Manager was impacted yesterday. I see the focal posts, dropping what was told to me by my manager - I will fight to get you focal + RSU if you perform, but, understand Oracle is using the bad job market and AI hype to take advantage (no raises to base pay) and they use the RSU as a carrot to make you work but you might not be employed to get it - so don't work extra, do the best in your normal hours. Remote employees on our team got 3 days notice and lost RSUs. So don't work to hard, work smart and look to exit this company. USA where employees don't have good protection like our European and Asian colleagues.

Question for remote employees. If we were all changed to the same Geo location c, why they hiring homebase users at higher pay grades in the career hub? There are multiple states listed in the state drop-down selection that have higher than C pay grades what gives?

What are the predictions for tomorrow's town hall? Are the rumours of remote working just rumours or will added flexibility be an easy win during a time of layoffs at Fiserv

We’re 5x back in office since Sep 1. How’s it going? My manager just reminded me about attendance’ - he’s remote btw!

I hate going into the office but not landed a remote role yet despite interviewing. So, my act of defiance is coffee badging and maybe spending 1-2 hours about twice a week for ‘visibility’.

There’s zero in-person collaboration or meetings. So much for ‘culture’!

IGN has recently implemented layoffs, impacting an unspecified number of employees. Among those affected are video hosts Seth Macy and Brian Altano, with Macy confirming his departure on social media. Altano had been a long-standing host at IGN since 2009. Sources indicate that various departments within the gaming website experienced these cuts. The exact scope of the layoffs remains unclear, though remote work status and relocation willingness may have been factors.

San Francisco, California

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/469074/ign-hit-with-layoffs-including-hosts-seth-macy-and-brian-altano/

It’s funny how the primary task of a “technology” manager or “senior” manager is to monitor and manage the attendance of other adults. It’s like being in school and the teacher marking attendance of all the kids. Except the kids here are 40 year olds. Directors senior directors and VPs doing the same, asking devs to update some values in excel files, database columns and loosely using the term “AI” to appear current. All while half their team members are sitting remote, not attending meetings, and always appearing away. How about you manage their “attendance” ?

Seattle's average commute time has significantly decreased, ranking third nationally. This improvement is primarily attributed to the rise of remote work and a substantial decline in public transit usage. In 2019, 25% of residents used transit, dropping to 15% by 2024. The article notes that solo drivers now average 26.5 minutes, while transit riders take 49.5 minutes. This trend contrasts with Sound Transit's efforts to increase ridership amidst budget concerns.

Seattle, Washington

https://seattlered.com/watch/seattle-ranks-3rd-in-america-for-shrinking-commutes-heres-why/01a08bb4-3c00-8008-f0fa-136d5b56ae80

what is the escalation protocol and consequence model for not complying totally with WPE rules? e.g. through the end of the year I already know/am planning to not be compliant (remote for week of thanksgiving, remote for week of Columbus day, some back to back remote days here or there) and I want to 'run this risk' in a somewhat smart way. what is guidance for managers to handle someone like me? top performer, only one in my role for the group, etc.

How did they get around excluding remote workers in CA from the 60-day notice period required under Cal-WARN?? Anyone else in this boat? Last service date of 9/17.

To the affected: Are you remote or onsite manager ?

I'm trying to figure out if it's just my group or it really is the entire company. I was forwarded an email from an entry level manager and the PDF attached claims to be company wide, but I didn't see an email from Bryan or anything. Just wondering if anyone else saw the original request. I'm not really setup to do this all the time, and will need to change my whole office to make it practical. Also not super excited about having to dress up and put makeup on every morning for no reason.

Let's also close all non-customer-facing office locations. Real estate will always be more expensive than a VPN. If we weren't spending hundreds of millions on vanity office spaces that need maintenance, infrastructure, furniture, lighting, security, etc.

If this company actually cared about efficiency it would go full virtual. Nobody cares about seeing "Wells Fargo" on a block of concrete when there's no ATM there.

I can't be the only one.

I don’t get this ft rto for some but not for all its arbitrary and unfair
So bc our area has the space we get to slog into Boston with our costly commute while other areas that likely cost less to commute get to wfh?!?
How does that build collaboration knowing some of your colleagues sets up a phone meeting just as you would like to leave for your commute all the while they’re sitting on their 🫏 at home with NO COMMUTE?!!!
How is THAT not a hostile work environment?!?
Yea I’m po’d

has anyone seen any recent formal communication regarding enforcing the 4-day in office requirements at HQ for everyone? Can some teams still do the 2-day a week on average for the quarter and still be in compliance? With all of the re-orgs anticipated I'm wondering how this could affect people moving from a more flexible env to a rigid one or vice versa.

I thought intel was making employees work from an office, no more remote work from home, other states, other countries?

Seems like the status quo to at the sites, did intel chicken out ?

Ever since the 4 days in work/ 1 day remote announcement, so many people in my division have applied for medical accommodations to work from home. I am curious how many will be approved. If you have a genuine need, that is okay. The people I know do not have a genuine need. They are just revolting against the 4 days. I hate the 4 days too so I understand the emotions. But that doesn't mean you should fake a medical need.

Nearly 1,900 Blizzard Entertainment employees have approved a new union contract after two years of negotiations. This agreement includes significant wage increases and improved accommodations for remote work and disabilities. The contract also introduces new protections against potential layoffs, offering extended severance and recall rights. A key feature is the inclusion of guardrails around the use of generative artificial intelligence in the workplace. These protections aim to set new industry standards for game development workers.

Irvine, California

https://www.mmorpg.com/news/nearly-1900-blizzard-employees-ratify-union-contract-with-ai-guardrails-wage-increases-layoff-and-remote-work-protections-2000138889?amp=true

https://www.techpowerup.com/352519/1-900-blizzard-workers-secure-union-contract-covering-gen-ai-layoffs-and-remote-work

I've seen so many posts and comments here over the past 2 months that talk about accommodations getting delayed, denied, geographic pay bands getting changed for folks previously on remote accommodations but now trying to renew, etc. It feels like U.S. Bank is actively discriminating against an entire class of disable employees. In my experience so far, most attorney firms it seems want you to have actually been fired before they're willing to offer a consult. Has anyone here worked with any firms that they have found helpful? I'm at the point in the interactive process where it almost feels like an EEOC complaint and/or state agency complaint is becoming warranted, but would appreciate some legal counsel on the next best steps.

I’ve seen a couple of people in Boston post holding back to school signs - so cringe.

Today I am 47 years old. When I grow up, I want to spend 2½ hours commuting so executives can see me on Teams from a different building.

Then the HR talent acq people chiming in “how clever”

They should dress us in orange and have us hold up our A numbers instead like a mug shot.

• Study finds remote workers are far happier and more productive
• Remote workers reported much higher well-being, but were also less likely to leave their role
• Study also dispels myth that remote workers might feel alienated from co-workers

A survey of 7,704 employees at a large US healthcare organization by researchers at the Leeds School of Business found fully remote workers reported the highest levels of well-being, with those entirely office-based reporting the lowest level.

The findings, published in Frontiers in Psychology, also noted that it was unable to discover significant evidence that remote workers felt any less connected to colleagues or workplace culture, once again disproving the myth against flexible working.

Stay flexible
"This suggests you let people work remotely if they want to work remotely," said Stefanie Johnson, professor of organizational leadership and information analytics at the Leeds School of Business and co-author of the study. "Taking away people's choice of how they work is probably not going to help them in terms of their well-being."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/people-who-want-to-work-remotely-are-unsurprisingly-actually-more-productive-and-happier/ar-AA2aipIh

For the amount of roles moved to Mexico and India why do they not have the same RTO policy? Or do they? Can someone share please….

Dear Takis,

Many hardworking knowledgeable employees have quit due to remote work options. Some of the “special” people are allowed to work remote and move all over the country. So much for one Fiserv. The rest of the knowledge base is being laid off. Why don’t you remove some of the layers of VPs instead?
You are replacing qualified Americans with lower cost H1Bs. We are getting what you paid for… no knowledge garbage.

Please clean up the mess and make Fiserv great again.

Sincerely,

Your humble fiservants

Where's the collaboration they promised with RTO? I only talk to people remotely, never in person, outside of the random meeting that I might as well skip. I even eat my lunch alone. It's a joke.

Since company is going bad to worse, no matter what they do, though ppl slog 10 hours in person, no merit ,,no promotion only problem after problem, remote work is one hope, lets see

Can anyone explain what is so important in Cary that they have to post hybrid NOC roles requiring employees to be in Cary three days a week? Everyone knows NOC work can be done from home, or remotely from another office. So why are they only hiring in Cary? Is it to justify keeping the office open???

Saw on Fuel that geographical information will be removed from Email names. I think this is a precursor to the Town hall coming.

There will be a relaxation of office mandates and more people will be moving back to remote work as previously announced by Takis.

Removing the Geographical location will prevent others from knowing where someone works from just by their email tag.

I was watching TV, and saw a workplace where people showed up to an office where they had their own desk, in some cases an office, where they interacted with their team in the physical world, where in person meetings were the norm, and where the job was tactile and real. What happened to that? Is what we get paid enough to give up basic expectations for work? Is the standard now just showing up for work at a stand up/sit down hot desk just to jump on meetings on teams with no real human interaction? When did something mundane on TV like "the Office" become a fantasy? I realize the traders at Helios might not care, but since my bonus isn't in the high six figures I want something more.

Why are supervisors constantly traveling to Bangalore? I thought the whole basis of the model is remote support works. So why do they constantly need to be going there in person? What do they do while they are there?

What are your thoughts? asking for a friend woth offers at both places..
do you guys hate that a remote office in Bangalore is taking up jobs?

I know everyone works differently and has their own preference for how they’re most productive—whether that’s remote, in-office, or a hybrid of the two.

I’m one of those people who genuinely thrives working remotely, and I’ve proven that I can do my job well that way. Requiring everyone to come into the office four days a week for more “collaboration” moments feels unnecessary to me. My role realistically requires one or two days in person, and I’m happy to come in for those.

And when we have a New York office and team members who are still working remotely, what’s really the difference between being at home or sitting in an office for a Zoom call?

Target has done an excellent job silencing its employees, and almost everyone I’ve talked to is miserable. People are being asked to come back to the office without additional compensation, while many haven’t seen meaningful raises in years. There’s a growing disconnect between what leadership thinks is happening internally and what employees are actually experiencing.

And unfortunately, I think the guest is starting to notice that disconnect, too.

Happy employees = better work = better products.

100s of them remote and no work, how does the company afford to keep them for 5-6 yearS?

Now its not just I.T. feeling the pain , and navigators are mostly remote

Hey everyone. For those of you that are finding work right away; what’s your area of expertise? Also, will you be inperson or remote. Did you pivot to another lane? This job market is a hot mess.